Nightmares
by PhoenixAce
Summary: After Daniel died Regina kept having recurring nightmares about that night, living it over and over again. Years later the nightmares remained the same, but the person in them changed. Inspired by Prelude to a Nightmare by Two Steps From Hell. Rated T to be on the safe side.


Authors Note: Just a short little one shot that came to me as I was listening to some Two Steps From Hell. I'll more than likely make a multi-chapter story out of this. But it'll be a while before I get the first chapter up. Also, this is my first attempt at writing fanfiction. For anything. Let me know what you think.

Disclaimer: I don't own OUaT or any of it's characters. I do, however, own my characters and quite possibly the story line.

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It had been almost five years since Daniel had died. And each day had been as hard as the last for Regina. For five years she had been stuck in a loveless marriage with the man whose daughter had been the cause of her love's passing.

Every night for years Regina would have nightmares where the same scene always played out. She could remember every detail, every emotion. She would watch as her mother ripped Daniel's heart out and crushed it to dust, her own heart feeling as if it too had been ripped from her chest. She watched as she ran to her fallen love and kissed him, hoping he would come back, tears streaming down her face when she realized he was truly gone.

Regina remembered the sob that had torn from her throat because each horror filled night she would wake, drenched in sweat and shaking, as another sob was released. And each night after she woke, sobs wracking her body, heart pounding with the age-old fear, the strong arms of her constant companion would wrap around her in a comforting embrace. Soothing words were whispered softly in her hair as Alyson would hold her, rocking them back and forth in a gentle manner, softly stroking her hair.

Alyson knew what Regina felt. And not just due to the bond the two had made on Regina's eighteenth name day. She had been with Regina since she was a child. She watched as the young girl she and her companions had rescued from the woods grew. She knew all Regina's hopes and dreams, as well as her fears. And as the young child grew and matured into a young woman, Alyson was helpless as she slowly began to fall in love with the girl whose side she hardly left.

She too had suffered greatly the night Daniel had died. For she had dared to stand in the way of Cora as the woman went to stop Regina. Alyson had paid a great price of pain, unable to stop Regina's mother from destroying her daughter's happiness. Immortality had its perks, but it also had its downsides. That night Alyson had endured more pain than she'd felt in her never-ending life, both physical and emotional.

Alyson continued to murmur soothing words as Regina's sobs slowly grew quieter before fading away entirely. Only tears remained, silently slipping from Regina's eyes. She continued to rock Regina in her arms as the other woman clutched her tightly.

Slowly Regina's body stopped shaking as she calmed down. It pained Alyson to watch her suffer like this, helpless to do anything but comfort her. Eventually Regina's breaths evened out, her grip on Alyson loosening. Still, Alyson held her as Regina slipped back into a hopefully dreamless slumber. She smoothed the hair away from Regina's face gently wiping away the drying tear tracks.

Another year slowly trickled by, marking the sixth year since that fateful night. As this year passed, though, Regina was puzzled when her nightmares began to change. Slowly Daniels face began to fade, being replaced by a blurred image that felt familiar, though she could not say why. And yet, that year slowly faded into the next as not only Daniels face changed but his entire mannerism. The nightmares were no less terrifying despite that.

It wasn't until the seventh year that the identity of the person who had replaced Daniel in her nightmares became clear. It was during one of the kings trips that he took with Snow. Per Regina's request, Alyson took her on her own trip to one of the many far off meadows that dotted the kingdom, bringing along two of her companions Rhea and Silus. Alyson left Aidan and Celeste at the palace so as to inform them of the kings' return.

On the third night of the trip, Regina finally learned the identity of the blurred face replacing Daniels. She had fallen asleep to the warmth of the fire and the comfort of Alyson's close proximity. Rhea kept guard a few feet outside the fire's light while Silus kept his own watch up in the tall trees. Alyson kept the fire ablaze as she sat close enough to Regina that, should she wake from another nightmare, she would be able to provide instant comfort.

Regina's dream started out peacefully. She was with Alyson, riding around the meadow near her house. She watched as the familiar scene played out; her rescuing Snow from the runaway horse. Only this time Alyson had been right there with her. After she pulled Snow from atop the horse, Alyson kept pace with it. Grabbing its reigns she tried to calm it to no avail.

The scene skipped forward to when Leopold proposed to her. She felt the same shock and horror as her mother accepted on her behalf. Somewhere behind her she felt Alyson's displeasure at the event. After everyone had left her to herself, Alyson had walked up behind her. She whispered in Regina's ear, telling her that tonight she would take her away. Take her somewhere where Cora could never reach her.

That night Regina slipped out to meet Alyson in the stables. Just as they were getting ready to leave Cora stepped out of the shadows. Immediately Alyson shoved Regina behind her, drawing her sword.

Cora laughed mockingly. "Do you really think that you will stop me?"

Alyson's lips curled in disdain as she snarled back. "I can damn well try."

Everything after became somewhat of a blur until Alyson raised her sword for a final blow. As her arms stretched above her head Cora lunged forward, plunging her hand into Alyson's chest and gripping her heart. Regina's heart stopped. She watched Alyson's eyes widen, blood trickling from her lips as she sputtered her surprise and pain. Regina watched as her mother tore Alyson's heart out.

And Regina knew. She knew that this time, despite Alyson's inability to die, she would not be coming back from this. She watched in horror as Cora crushed the still beating heart. She watched as Alyson slowly fell to her knees, blood now pouring from her lips and the gaping wound in her chest. Watched as the sword from the now lifeless fingers of her beloved companion. As the sword hit the ground with a dull thunk and Alyson's body collapsed, the spell broke.

A scream tore from Regina's throat as hot tears burned angrily down her face. She ran to Alyson's body, cradled her in her arms, soaking herself in the dead wolf's blood. She realized then that the pain she felt now was a hundred times worse than what she'd felt before.

Gut wrenching sobs tore through her body as she held Alyson's lifeless body to her own. Regina begged her to come back. Screaming at her to not break her promise. Reminding her that she had vowed never to leave Regina's side. That they would always be together no matter what.

As she held her fallen wolf, her mother finally spoke, telling her it was for the best. That nothing would stand in her way now. And as Regina turned to spit back that Alyson would never stand in her way, only stand by her side, what she saw where her mother stood stole all speech from her.

Standing in place of her mother was an older version of herself, donned all in black, a wicked smirk on her face. Alyson's once beating heart now rested in her hand, the blood from it coating her fingers.

Regina watched in horror as her older self stepped forward. And as she spoke, Regina was filled with fear that clenched her heart so painfully she could hardly breathe. Her eyes widened in absolute terror as she clutched Alyson's body tighter. As the final word slipped past those smirking lips, Regina's breath caught in her throat causing her to choke and gasp for air. Then everything went black, the same cruel words that had just been spoken were whispered in the darkness.

A heart-wrenching scream of denial shattered the peaceful silence of the campsite as Regina sat bolt upright, sobs once more wracking her body. Her scream had startled everyone. Rhea whipped around quickly, drawing her sword in case there was any danger and Silus had to clutch onto a nearby branch as his foot slipped, so as not to fall. Alyson had been the most startled, nearly falling over from where she was sitting. Her heart was beating rapidly, her eyes wide with fear and worry. In all the years that she'd comforted Regina from her nightmares she had never heard her scream. Her breath quickened as she quickly thought of reasons for such a terrified scream, yet nothing came to mind.

Her thoughts stopped, though, as her worried eyes locked with the wide, terrified ones of the woman she secretly loved. They sat there staring at each other for what felt like an eternity but was only a few seconds before Regina lunged forward into Alyson's arms, clutching at her tightly in desperation. She buried her head in Alyson's neck as she felt her companions arms wrap comfortingly around her.

Alyson looked over at Rhea and tilted her head slightly, letting her know there was no immediate danger. Rhea relaxed slowly, sheathing her sword, before resuming her quiet patrol of the perimeter. Silus slowly released a breath he didn't know he'd been holding before respectfully turning his gaze back to the woods he'd been watching.

Returning her attention back to the shaking woman in her arms, Alyson pondered what could have caused her dearest friend such agony. She felt Regina's lips move against her neck in quiet pleas. Due to her heightened hearing she caught what was being repeated over and over. Whispered apologies and desperate pleas for Alyson to never leave. Slowly, Regina's latest nightmare trickled through their shared bond and as Alyson watched what had been dreamt she finally understood Regina's distress. When the dream ended Alyson tightened her arms around her beloved Regina and once again murmured soothing words and promises that she would never leave.


End file.
